Decline of long-range temporal correlations in the human brain during sustained wakefulness

Sleep is crucial for daytime functioning, cognitive performance and general well-being. These aspects of daily life are known to be impaired after extended wake, yet, the underlying neuronal correlates have been difficult to identify. Accumulating evidence suggests that normal functioning of the brain is characterized by long-range temporal correlations (LRTCs) in cortex, which are supportive for decision-making and working memory tasks. Here we assess LRTCs in resting state human EEG data during a 40-hour sleep deprivation experiment by evaluating the decay in autocorrelation and the scaling exponent of the detrended fluctuation analysis from EEG amplitude fluctuations. We find with both measures that LRTCs decline as sleep deprivation progresses. This decline becomes evident when taking changes in signal power into appropriate consideration. Our results demonstrate the importance of sleep to maintain LRTCs in the human brain. In complex networks, LRTCs naturally emerge in the vicinity of a critical state. The observation of declining LRTCs during wake thus provides additional support for our hypothesis that sleep reorganizes cortical networks towards critical dynamics for optimal functioning

Directions of changes in the management of Polish NGOs in processes of governmentalisation and marketisation

The recent years brought worldwide development of managerial thinking and practices in the third sector, but these processes are barely identified within the Polish non-governmental sector. Polish organisations are considerably more influenced by the public sector, which often results in too close relationships, dependence from public financial resources, and advancing institutionalisation. Perhaps the state’s retreat from a broad partnership with NGOs, widely regarded as disadvantageous and dangerous to the Polish democracy, that could be observed for the past two years at the central level, will turn out to be the saving grace and will stop the processes of governmentalisation. In search of the sources of funding other than public, increasing the quality of services and learning new rules, relations and principles; perhaps we will witness the emergence of a new formula of the third sector in Poland. Keeping in mind, of course, the leading principle of heterogenicity and diversity of NGOs' objectives, stemming from unlimited human need

Cholesterol, C-Reactive Protein, and Periodontitis: HMG-CoA-Reductase Inhibitors (Statins) as Effect Modifiers

Common risk factors of periodontitis and cardiovascular diseases fuel the debate on interrelationships between them. The aim is to prove whether statins may influence periodontal parameters by affecting either of these factors. Out of the 4,290 subjects of SHIP (Study of Health in Pomerania), we included subjects aged >30 years (219 with statins, 2937 without) and excluded edentulous. We determined periodontal measures, cholesterol fractions, and inflammation markers. Statin use and periodontal risk factors were assessed. Gingival plaque and periodontal attachment loss were associated with systemic LDL cholesterol (P < 0.001) and C-reactive protein CRP (P = 0.019) revealing interaction with statin use. When adjusted for age, sex, smoking, diabetes, education, and dental service, statins were identified as effect modifiers abolishing the relationship between attachment loss and LDL and between gingival plaque and LDL (interactions P < 0.001). No statin-related interaction was detected with increase in CRP. The interaction supports the view of inter-relationships between periodontal and systemic inflammatory mediators

Periodontal complications of hyperglycemia/diabetes mellitus: Epidemiologic complexity and clinical challenge

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the adverse effects of hyperglycemia on the periodontium. It combines data from literature reviews of original data from two large, population‐based epidemiologic studies with comprehensive periodontal health assessment. Emphasis is placed on the exploration of hitherto sparsely reported effects of prediabetes and poorly controlled (uncontrolled) diabetes, in contrast to the umbrella term “diabetes.” This stems from the realization that it is not simply having a diagnosis of diabetes that may adversely affect periodontal health. Rather, it is the level (severity) of hyperglycemia that is the determining factor, not the case definition of the diagnosis of diabetes or the type of diabetes in question. Importantly, based on existing evidence this paper also attempts to estimate the improvements in periodontal probing depth and clinical attachment level that can be expected upon successful nonsurgical periodontal treatment in people with chronic periodontitis, with and without diabetes, respectively. This exploration includes the implentation of new systematic reviews and meta‐analyses that allow comparison of such intervention outcomes between hyperglycemic and normoglycemic subjects. Based on both existing literature and original analyses of population‐based studies, we try to answer questions such as: Is there a glycated hemoglobin concentration threshold for periodontitis risk? Does short‐term periodontal probing depth reduction and clinical attachment level gain after scaling and root planing depend on glycemic control in type 2 diabetes? Are short‐term scaling and root planing outcomes in people with hyperglycemia/diabetes inferior to those in people without diabetes? Do periodontitis patients with diabetes benefit more from the use of adjuvant antibiotics with nonsurgical periodontal treatment than people without diabetes? Does hyperglycemia lead to greater tooth loss in patients in long‐term post‐periodontal treatment maintenance programs? Throughout this review, we compare our new findings with previous data and report whether the results of these new analyses corroborate, or are in discord with, similar scientific reports in the literature. We also explore the potential role of dental health‐care professionals in helping patients control the risk factors that are identical for periodontitis and diabetes. Finally, we suggest various topics that still need exploration in future research.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146293/1/prd12235.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146293/2/prd12235_am.pd

Highly Refractory Peridotites on Macquarie Island and the Case for Anciently Depleted Domains in the Earth's Mantle

Macquarie Island (Southern Ocean) is a fragment of Miocene ocean crust and upper mantle formed at a slow-spreading ridge system, uplifted and currently exposed above sea-level. The crustal rocks on the island have unusually enriched compositions and the strong signature of an enriched source requires low overall degrees of melt depletion in the underlying mantle. Peridotites on the island, however, are highly refractory harzburgites that can be modeled as residues of >20-25% of near-fractional melting from which all the free clinopyroxene was melted out. The peridotites have some of the highest spinel Cr-numbers (0·40-0·49) and lowest orthopyroxene-core Al2O3 concentrations (2·7-3·0 wt %) reported so far for oceanic peridotites. The peridotites were subsequently modified by melt-rock reactions underneath the Miocene ridge system. The refractory character of the peridotites is inconsistent with the slow-spreading ridge setting as well as with the enriched character of the overlying crust, and must indicate a previous depletion event; the peridotites are not the source residue of the overlying ocean crust on Macquarie Island. Osmium isotopic compositions of peridotite samples are very unradiogenic (187Os/188Os = 0·1194-0·1229) compared with normal abyssal peridotites and indicate a long-lived rhenium depletion. Proterozoic rhenium-depletion ages indicate that these rocks have preserved a memory of an old mantle melting event. We argue that the Macquarie Island harzburgites are samples from an anciently depleted refractory mantle reservoir that may be globally important, but that is generally overlooked because of its sterility; that is, its inability to produce basalts. This reservoir may preserve key information about the history of the Earth's mantle as a whol

Social work after stroke: identifying demand for support by recording stroke patients' and carers' needs in different phases after stroke.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies examining social work interventions in stroke often lack information on content, methods and timing over different phases of care including acute hospital, rehabilitation and out-patient care. This limits our ability to evaluate the impact of social work in multidisciplinary stroke care. We aimed to quantify social-work-related support in stroke patients and their carers in terms of timing and content, depending on the different phases of stroke care. METHODS: We prospectively collected and evaluated data derived from a specialized "Stroke-Service-Point" (SSP); a "drop in" center and non-medical stroke assistance service, staffed by social workers and available to all stroke patients, their carers and members of the public in the metropolitan region of Berlin, Germany. RESULTS: Enquiries from 257 consenting participants consulting the SSP between March 2010 and April 2012 related to out-patient and in-patient services, therapeutic services, medical questions, medical rehabilitation, self-help groups and questions around obtaining benefits. Frequency of enquiries for different topics depended on whether patients were located in an in-patient or out-patient setting. The majority of contacts involved information provision. While the proportion of male and female patients with stroke was similar, about two thirds of the carers contacting the SSP were female. CONCLUSION: The social-work-related services provided by a specialized center in a German metropolitan area were diverse in terms of topic and timing depending on the phase of stroke care. Targeting the timing of interventions might be important to increase the impact of social work on patient's outcome

identifying demand for support by recording stroke patients’ and carers’ needs in different phases after stroke

Background Previous studies examining social work interventions in stroke often lack information on content, methods and timing over different phases of care including acute hospital, rehabilitation and out-patient care. This limits our ability to evaluate the impact of social work in multidisciplinary stroke care. We aimed to quantify social-work-related support in stroke patients and their carers in terms of timing and content, depending on the different phases of stroke care. Methods We prospectively collected and evaluated data derived from a specialized “Stroke-Service-Point” (SSP); a “drop in” center and non-medical stroke assistance service, staffed by social workers and available to all stroke patients, their carers and members of the public in the metropolitan region of Berlin, Germany. Results Enquiries from 257 consenting participants consulting the SSP between March 2010 and April 2012 related to out-patient and in-patient services, therapeutic services, medical questions, medical rehabilitation, self-help groups and questions around obtaining benefits. Frequency of enquiries for different topics depended on whether patients were located in an in-patient or out-patient setting. The majority of contacts involved information provision. While the proportion of male and female patients with stroke was similar, about two thirds of the carers contacting the SSP were female. Conclusion The social- work-related services provided by a specialized center in a German metropolitan area were diverse in terms of topic and timing depending on the phase of stroke care. Targeting the timing of interventions might be important to increase the impact of social work on patient’s outcome